Giants’ 2018 trade for Andrew McCutchen could soon look much worse

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 25: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the San Francisco Giants is congratulated by manager Bruce Bochy #15 after McCutchen scored agains the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the first inning at AT&T Park on August 25, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH — Upon acquiring outfielder Andrew McCutchen in January, 2018, the Giants’ ownership group and front office attempted to sell its fans on a vision.

The Giants believed a 98-loss season in 2017 was nothing more than an aberration and felt that surrounding their core players with proven assets like McCutchen and Evan Longoria would spark an immediate resurgence.

By the end of August, McCutchen was playing the outfield for the New York Yankees and the Giants were headed for an 89-loss season.

It did not require a magnifying glass to spot the flaws on the team’s 2018 roster, but the Giants promoted the vision of fielding a contending club anyway. A front office led by Brian Sabean and Bobby Evans did what few, if any, baseball operations departments would do following a 98-loss season and shipped out a slew of prospects in exchange for established veterans.

Instead of attempting to replenish the roster with younger, emerging talent, the Giants followed the demands of an ownership group led by Larry Baer that believed rebuilding was not a viable option in San Francisco.

In the weeks leading up to the 2018 season, the vision had some merit. The Giants’ core of homegrown players was getting older and a window to contend with the group was rapidly closing. McCutchen and Longoria weren’t necessarily the ideal additions, but if Sabean and Evans were instructed to add as much talent as possible without crushing the team’s payroll, the trades made some sense.

The passing of time is not doing the Giants any favors.

The Giants sent pitcher Kyle Crick and outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds to the Pirates to land McCutchen, who was scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the 2018 season. Crick posted a 2.39 ERA in 64 games for Pittsburgh last season and struck out the only batter he faced in Friday’s game against the Giants. Reynolds was called up Saturday and will make his major league debut against the franchise that drafted him.

At the time of the trade, Giants’ talent evaluators weren’t sure whether Reynolds would develop into more than a fourth or fifth outfielder. But since joining the Pirates organization, the Giants’ second round draft choice in 2016 has done nothing but hit.

“Obviously we thought a lot of him because we took him in the second round,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s done very well. Since the day he signed, he’s played well and he’s getting his chance.”

In 13 Triple-A games this year, Reynolds is batting .367 with a 1.181 OPS and five home runs. The switch-hitting center field prospect hasn’t shown off much power in his minor league career, but if he’s able to build off an impressive start to his 2019 season, the McCutchen trade could look even worse than it already does for the Giants.

When it became clear the Giants wouldn’t contend through the end of last season, Evans sent McCutchen to New York to acquire infield prospect Abiatal Avelino and right-handed pitcher Juan De Paula. Avelino is still in the organization and projects as a backup utility infielder while De Paula was dealt to Toronto in April by new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi in the swap that sent Kevin Pillar to the Giants.

The Giants are pleased with the addition of Pillar, but it’s hard not to envision an outfield in which Reynolds and Steven Duggar are coming of age together.

When San Francisco traded for McCutchen, the club’s executives understood they were parting with a high-ceiling if somewhat inconsistent reliever in Crick. However, they weren’t exactly sure if Reynolds had the potential to develop into a major league regular.

There’s a level of risk involved in every trade, but the Giants are not an organization that can afford to part with homegrown outfield talent because the organization has failed to develop it for so long. It’s far too soon to know what kind of player Reynolds will become, but his presence on the Pirates’ 25-man roster underscores the dangers associated with failing to rebuild when doing so becomes necessary.

The McCutchen trade may have inspired hope in January, 2018, but in April, 2019, the Giants are learning a hard lesson about the realities of going “all in” every year.

Kerry Crowley is a multimedia beat reporter covering the San Francisco Giants. He spent his early days throwing curveballs in San Francisco’s youth leagues before studying journalism at Arizona State University. Kerry has covered every level of baseball, from local preps to the Cape Cod League, and is now on a quest to determine which Major League city serves the best cheeseburger.